Wednesday, March 21, 2007

There is a solution to polluting plastic bags in hedges, fences, blowing around the streets. STOP NOW. A tax would encourage people to take their own bags. The tax raised could be used to tidy up the mess.

In March 2002 the Irish government introduced a PlasTax levy on single-use plastic carrier bags (including biodegradable ones.) The scheme has been an extraordinary success, with consumption down by a staggering 95%. Prior to the introduction of the levy annual carrier bag usage in Ireland stood at 1.2 billion.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Ask anyone! We are running out of fish. The ones that are left are more and more toxic from polution. The ocean's delicate ecosystems are being undermined by overfishing the seas and it's not even that people are eating the fish. Most of it gets used for marine oil for industrial use or to feed animals or even other fish.

Fish catches are going down, size of fish caught are going down, only the price of fish oil is going up.

Meanwhile health professionals are saying we should eat more fish or take an essential fatty acid EFA suplement of omega 3 containing DHA - docosahexaenoic acid and EPA eicosapentaenoic acid.

DHA and EPA which stands for docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid are long chain fats from the omega 3 essential fatty acid chain. EPA DHA are highly unsaturated fat because of they contain 6 and 5 double bond s on their long structural chain. These polyunsaturated fats play a very important role with the function of our bodies.

EPA and DHA are vital nutrients and may be taken to maintain healthy function of the following: Brain and Retina- DHA is a building block of tissue in the brain and retina of the eye. It helps with forming neural transmitters, such as phosphatidylserine, which is important for brain function. DHA is found in the retina of the eye and taking DHA may be necessary for maintaining healthy levels of DHA for normal eye function.

Cardiovascular system - EPA and DHA are converted into hormone like substances called prostaglandins, and they regulate cell activity and healthy cardiovascular function.

Human growth and intellectual development - DHA plays a very important role during fetal development, early infancy, and old age. High concentrations of DHA are found in the brain and increases 300-500% in and infant's brain during the last trimester of pregnancy. Adding DHA to a pregnant mothers diet may be beneficial for the fetus's brain development. Elderly people should also take EPA DHA, because as we get older, our bodies form less DHA and EPA, which may cause less mental focus and cognitive function. Taking EPA DHA may also help with mental abnormalities, such as Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia.

There are other benefits to taking EPA and DHA because it also plays as a source of energy, it insulates the body against heat loss, prevents skin from drying and flaking, and cushions tissues and organs.

At last there is a vegetarian and vegan alternative to these essential brain building membrane protecting fats. V Pure is a sustainably produced, ethical vegan, fish free, environmentally friendly DHA and EPA rich omega 3 oil in a vegetarian soft gel capsule. Made in Switzerland from secret strains of pure micro algae it is set to take the world by storm as people realise there is now a credible alternative to fish.

Will the world ever be the same again - as a girl named Guy get's down and dirty with twinkies of all shapes and sizes and puts twinkie munching under the microscope. She exposes the world of twinkie eating and exposes the twinkie fetishists. Top votes went to the organic gourmet twinkie and the vegan twinkie. Least ingredients award went to the vegan Twinkie.

She even finds a Twinkie Virgin (a Brit!) as Steve Ettlinger, author launches his new book, Twinkie, Deconstructed.

“Ethical consumerism” is on the rise as more marketers, retailers, and consumers realize that their actions have ethical, social, and environmental consequences. Consumers increasingly are shopping with their conscience, say experts, who note the rapid growth in sales of organic, local, humane, Fair Trade, and eco-friendly goods. The strong growth of ethical grocery products is all the more significant when contrasted with the relatively flat market for conventional groceries. Yet, critics worry that as “green” becomes mainstream, these products’ very popularity and the entry of Big Business are diluting the movement’s original ideals.

If you are interested in this market you could download this 'Ethical Consumers and Corporate Responsibility: The Market and Trends for Ethical Products in Food and Beverage, Personal Care and Household Items' report for $3,500 or you could instead invest in attending The International Ethical Living show at The Bristol Vegan Fayre to find out what is really happening at grassroots and find out where the ethical market are heading.

Eddie asked if Tony had noticed a difference when he went vegan. Tony said that he used to eat a lot of cheese as a vegetarian and noticed his skin got much better on a vegan diet.

Laura called in to say she had been vegan but then got anaemic - Tony explained there is no reason for this as all nutrients are available in plant based versions including iron (green leafy veg, dried apricots, beans) and said that most of the people that London NutritionistYvonne Bishop-Weston sees who are low in iron are meat eaters.

A Hindhu Gentleman called in saying Hinduism teaches that vegetarians were spiritually superior and those that meat were more likely to be aggressive and violent.

Then a guy called in supporting the Dairy Industry trying to turn the discussion to one about honey rather than the detrimental effects of meat and dairy on the environment and health.

Sadly he succeeded and the rest of the programme degenerated to a discussion about honey, despite Tony trying to steer the conversation back and suggesting he look on the Vegan Society website if he wanted to know more about honey and how male bees heads are cut off.

Tony did manage to put Eddie Straight on the Colin Jackson Saga on BBC 2's Truth about Food. Tony pointed out that Colin could have all the protein he needed if he wanted he just deliberately chose low protein options and then could have managed 5 more press ups rather than 5 less.

A lot of pig shit is one thing; a lot of highly toxic pig shit is another. The excrement of Smithfield hogs is hardly even pig shit: On a continuum of pollutants, it is probably closer to radioactive waste than to organic manure.

The drugs Smithfield administers to its pigs, of course, exit its hog houses in pig shit. Industrial pig waste also contains a host of other toxic substances: ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, cyanide, phosphorous, nitrates and heavy metals. In addition, the waste nurses more than 100 microbial pathogens that can cause illness in humans, including salmonella, cryptosporidium, streptocolli and girardia. Each gram of hog shit can contain as much as 100 million fecal coliform bacteria.

******

Looking down from the plane, we watch as several of Smithfield's farmers spray their hog shit straight up into the air as a fine mist: It looks like a public fountain. Lofted and atomized, the shit is blown clear of the company's property. People who breathe the shit-infused air suffer from bronchitis, asthma, heart palpitations, headaches, diarrhea, nosebleeds and brain damage. In 1995, a woman downwind from a corporate hog farm in Olivia, Minnesota, called a poison-control center and described her symptoms. "Ma'am," the poison-control officer told her, "the only symptoms of hydrogen-sulfide poisoning you're not experiencing are seizures, convulsions and death. Leave the area immediately."

Thanks to the Blogger Team for naming us as a blog of note on the 1st March 2007

It wasn't so long ago the topic of veganism was on the fringes of acceptability and we'd struggle to be honoured in this way. These days with all the talk about the environment, healthy eating, and fair trade products, vegetarian and vegan diets are now rising rapidly in popularity.